bobcat
<font color=magenta>I had a horrible case two year
- Joined
- Aug 19, 1999
- Messages
- 4,158
Day 2 Part 2 - The melt down
Drying off and resting seemed to help the grumpys, at least for a while. We played in the arcade for a little while and just hung out at the hotel for the afternoon. I wasn't ready to give up the fight for a magical vacation just yet.
What a more magical way to end our first park day than to head to the Magic Kingdom. We hadn't seen wishes or Mickey's Philharmagic so that was our goal this evening. If we didn't get anything else accomplished and I could keep the kiddos from tearing each other apart I would be happy.
MK was very crowded but we expected it. Even so I kept thinking is this the best choice when we are all so grumpy. We headed to Tommorowland to try and catch Timekeeper since it has always been closed and it is one of the attractions we have never seen. I also figured it would be a cool place and could handle the crowds. Well we made it into the preshow and they were having technical difficulties and we didn't get to see the movie. Saw most of the preshow which was cute. Since that was a bust and MK was wall to wall we headed to another favorite, CP. We love "It's a great big beautiful tomorrow" and this perked us up for a while.
We had stopped earlier for Buzz FP so we rode this. I love this ride but I really don't like that they added a picture at the end. The cars don't turn at this point and it ruins any chance for those last few points. My face always looks so concentrated in the pictures. LOL the kids know to either let me steer the car or ride by yourselves.
We rode the TTA and then headed through Fantasyland. We were taking it easy and riding whatever was available. Such a change from our normal touring but we needed to take our time. We had a short wait for Haunted Mansion but it still cracks me up when people push past you only to end up in the same stretching room.
We were stopped for a short time in the creepy ScoobyDoo eyes hallway and DD just hates that. The CMs weren't as creepy today. It's more fun when they are in creepy character.
The last show we wanted to accomplish was Mickey's Philharmagic. The standby wait here can be out in the sun so afternoon is probably not the best time to wait. The line was out past Tinkerbell's treasures so all of the FP people kept cutting through line. We must have looked friendly because I think every single one pushed past us. It was about a 20-30 minute wait and since we really didn't feel like doing anything else we waited. Again pretty unusual for us as most times we would just get a FP and go do something else. We jsut didn't have the energy, and this was only our first park day! The posters inside are very cute so we passed the time reading them. The wait was so worth it! This is one of the best attractions at WDW! I can sit through this over and over!
Hunger struck so we wandered over to frontierland for a Turkey leg. I don't know how people can eat one by themselves because we always share one between the three of us. We had to defend ourselves from the birds, first time for that as well, never had a problem in the past. One funny thing that happened. I sent the kids to get a seat on one of the wooden planters while I was in line (remember we were getting on each other nerves) and when I was walking across the street with our dinner a couple of teen boys were flirting with my daughter. When they saw me coming they hightailed it out of there LOL. She said they were just asking for directions. UmHum. Sure.
Fortified by emu and armed with wet wipes we were in no hurry to do anything else so we wandered through the stores. For a long time. A really long time. Kids traded some pins and made their "I want" list.
DD decided she wanted to see Spectromagic. From main street. 20 minutes before the parade started. Anyone see a problem with this? DD was in her I'm not going to listen to Mom mode so I told her if she could find us a spot we would watch. Main street was packed, as I knew it would be, but DD is stubborn. (wonder where she gets that from) and was determined to find a spot. Well she found one, about 9 people deep across the street from the new emporium addition. We slipped under the rope, but if everyone decided to stand during the parade we were SOL. Luckily a few people in front of us moved so we were able to work our way closer to the front.
We almost saw a brawl as the parade started and only about 10 people we standing blocking the view down the street. Now these weren't people who had been sitting waiting for the parade but rather people who lucked out when they closed the crosswalk across mainstreet and the CM let them stand there. Good parade manners lesson: if you luck into a good spot look around and make sure you aren't blocking others view. Parade kindness lesson: if there are kids standing behind you that are shorter than you let them stand in front of you. They won't block your view and watching how happy they are will enhance your parade experience. We made room for a family, two teen boys mom and little girl, and let the shortest boy and little girl in front so they could see. The boy held his sister through the entire parade it was so cute.
A lot of people clear out after the parade so we headed closer to the hub to get seats for wishes. We plopped on the sidewalk just past the tip board.
WARNING This is when the melt down happened. I have no idea what prompted it (I think it was one of those he's touching me moments and I evidently took her brothers side) but my almost 12yo DD threw a fit worthy of a toddler! She was crying and threw her backpack down on the pavement "you don't love me!" I said a few harsh words to her about how she was acting like a baby (yeah not my finest moment) and to stop embarrasing herself. We didn't talk the entire time we waited for Wishes to start. We communicated but it wasn't with words. I have no idea where she gets those glares from.
Wishes started and we were both crying. It had been an emotional day and this sent us over the edge. Afterwards I was still perturbed at my kids for their behavior today and at myself for letting it get to me. It was a silent ride back on the bus. The Pop buses weren't all that crowded and they arrived in multiples so we didn't have long to wait. Thankfully.
Back in the room we had a serious talk about behavior and what is expected on vacation. In 6 trips this is our first major meltdown and I have to say it took me by suprise. If my kids weren't great on vacation we wouldn't go so often. They usually even remind each other they aren't allowed to fight on vacation. Well that time period is obviously over! I was deadly serious when I told them we would head home early if they didn't straighten up. I didn't want to go home but I wasn't going to spend 10 days of nonstop fighting in one room and spending tons of money to do it.
Tomorrow - will it be heading home or resting up?
Pictures for the day:
A happy momment. The cubs actually getting along (at least until the picture was taken) with Pal Mickey.
Wishes. Pictures don't do it justice!
Drying off and resting seemed to help the grumpys, at least for a while. We played in the arcade for a little while and just hung out at the hotel for the afternoon. I wasn't ready to give up the fight for a magical vacation just yet.
What a more magical way to end our first park day than to head to the Magic Kingdom. We hadn't seen wishes or Mickey's Philharmagic so that was our goal this evening. If we didn't get anything else accomplished and I could keep the kiddos from tearing each other apart I would be happy.
MK was very crowded but we expected it. Even so I kept thinking is this the best choice when we are all so grumpy. We headed to Tommorowland to try and catch Timekeeper since it has always been closed and it is one of the attractions we have never seen. I also figured it would be a cool place and could handle the crowds. Well we made it into the preshow and they were having technical difficulties and we didn't get to see the movie. Saw most of the preshow which was cute. Since that was a bust and MK was wall to wall we headed to another favorite, CP. We love "It's a great big beautiful tomorrow" and this perked us up for a while.
We had stopped earlier for Buzz FP so we rode this. I love this ride but I really don't like that they added a picture at the end. The cars don't turn at this point and it ruins any chance for those last few points. My face always looks so concentrated in the pictures. LOL the kids know to either let me steer the car or ride by yourselves.
We rode the TTA and then headed through Fantasyland. We were taking it easy and riding whatever was available. Such a change from our normal touring but we needed to take our time. We had a short wait for Haunted Mansion but it still cracks me up when people push past you only to end up in the same stretching room.
We were stopped for a short time in the creepy ScoobyDoo eyes hallway and DD just hates that. The CMs weren't as creepy today. It's more fun when they are in creepy character. The last show we wanted to accomplish was Mickey's Philharmagic. The standby wait here can be out in the sun so afternoon is probably not the best time to wait. The line was out past Tinkerbell's treasures so all of the FP people kept cutting through line. We must have looked friendly because I think every single one pushed past us. It was about a 20-30 minute wait and since we really didn't feel like doing anything else we waited. Again pretty unusual for us as most times we would just get a FP and go do something else. We jsut didn't have the energy, and this was only our first park day! The posters inside are very cute so we passed the time reading them. The wait was so worth it! This is one of the best attractions at WDW! I can sit through this over and over!
Hunger struck so we wandered over to frontierland for a Turkey leg. I don't know how people can eat one by themselves because we always share one between the three of us. We had to defend ourselves from the birds, first time for that as well, never had a problem in the past. One funny thing that happened. I sent the kids to get a seat on one of the wooden planters while I was in line (remember we were getting on each other nerves) and when I was walking across the street with our dinner a couple of teen boys were flirting with my daughter. When they saw me coming they hightailed it out of there LOL. She said they were just asking for directions. UmHum. Sure.
Fortified by emu and armed with wet wipes we were in no hurry to do anything else so we wandered through the stores. For a long time. A really long time. Kids traded some pins and made their "I want" list.
DD decided she wanted to see Spectromagic. From main street. 20 minutes before the parade started. Anyone see a problem with this? DD was in her I'm not going to listen to Mom mode so I told her if she could find us a spot we would watch. Main street was packed, as I knew it would be, but DD is stubborn. (wonder where she gets that from) and was determined to find a spot. Well she found one, about 9 people deep across the street from the new emporium addition. We slipped under the rope, but if everyone decided to stand during the parade we were SOL. Luckily a few people in front of us moved so we were able to work our way closer to the front.
We almost saw a brawl as the parade started and only about 10 people we standing blocking the view down the street. Now these weren't people who had been sitting waiting for the parade but rather people who lucked out when they closed the crosswalk across mainstreet and the CM let them stand there. Good parade manners lesson: if you luck into a good spot look around and make sure you aren't blocking others view. Parade kindness lesson: if there are kids standing behind you that are shorter than you let them stand in front of you. They won't block your view and watching how happy they are will enhance your parade experience. We made room for a family, two teen boys mom and little girl, and let the shortest boy and little girl in front so they could see. The boy held his sister through the entire parade it was so cute.
A lot of people clear out after the parade so we headed closer to the hub to get seats for wishes. We plopped on the sidewalk just past the tip board.
WARNING This is when the melt down happened. I have no idea what prompted it (I think it was one of those he's touching me moments and I evidently took her brothers side) but my almost 12yo DD threw a fit worthy of a toddler! She was crying and threw her backpack down on the pavement "you don't love me!" I said a few harsh words to her about how she was acting like a baby (yeah not my finest moment) and to stop embarrasing herself. We didn't talk the entire time we waited for Wishes to start. We communicated but it wasn't with words. I have no idea where she gets those glares from.
Wishes started and we were both crying. It had been an emotional day and this sent us over the edge. Afterwards I was still perturbed at my kids for their behavior today and at myself for letting it get to me. It was a silent ride back on the bus. The Pop buses weren't all that crowded and they arrived in multiples so we didn't have long to wait. Thankfully.
Back in the room we had a serious talk about behavior and what is expected on vacation. In 6 trips this is our first major meltdown and I have to say it took me by suprise. If my kids weren't great on vacation we wouldn't go so often. They usually even remind each other they aren't allowed to fight on vacation. Well that time period is obviously over! I was deadly serious when I told them we would head home early if they didn't straighten up. I didn't want to go home but I wasn't going to spend 10 days of nonstop fighting in one room and spending tons of money to do it.
Tomorrow - will it be heading home or resting up?
Pictures for the day:
A happy momment. The cubs actually getting along (at least until the picture was taken) with Pal Mickey.
Wishes. Pictures don't do it justice!
